The Discount: Dirt 3 Review

In 2010 the people at CodeMasters got back to what it is that they do best. They made the third installment of their already successful franchise in Dirt 3.

One day KayJ and I walked into the gaming section of Best Buy. Not really expecting to buy anything I start combing through the PS3 section and I come upon a tab that says “Dirt 3 $9.99”. So I look to KJ, ask for his infinite wisdom, and from then on I have been a fan of this game and it rarely leaves the confines of my Playstation.

Between seemingly immaculate visuals and an almost perfect racing engine, Dirt 3 is a must have for any racing game enthusiast. CodeMasters makes in this game a good mix of realism and fun with the controls and operations of the car at your fingertips. Even the menus on the game fit the overall clean appearance. They throw you in a multitude of cars that range from a turbocharged Subaru Impreza all the way to a winterized Toyota Tacoma. Each car in this game feels like a different car. Most games when you have multiple makes and models of cars, you don’t have to change your driving technique or even change how you accelerate. Each car in this game takes a certain level of control or you will lose all that control.

One of the major downsides to this game however, is the sense of repetition that you get the more you play the game. The wow factor from the first time you hop in a rally car, to the last time decreases marginally. There are many venues that you can race at and for the most part there are a lot of types of races you can do but after a while they all feel the same. I think the developers realized this so they introduced a new element to the already popular “Gymkhana” mode that they brought in on Dirt 2.

Now you have “Gymkhana Freestyle” which literally allows you to do all the things you would during a typical event but they drop you in an arena and let you do whatever it is you want to do. However, they also give you a list of achievements so to speak that if you complete you get XP in the game. The first time I tried this out I literally spent hours trying to carry out the things they had listed for you.

As far as the Multiplayer and split screen goes, there is no love lost on the split screen racing. With a large TV and a good friend, this game could offer hours of fun. Not many people are still on the servers these days but I was able to do a few races and in my experience they were smooth and I had no complaints because I won every time. Also along the lines of online features, there is quite a bit of DLC for this game. Not only cars, but tracks as well. In my opinion however, considering how old this game is the DLC is too expensive and does give you the “bang for your buck” incentive to buy it.

Overall, Dirt 3, at anywhere from $0-29.99 is a great bargain pickup. Even buying a used copy will do because they don’t make you enter a code to play online. I’m glad KJ and I happened upon this deal on that fateful day.